Computer Virus Targeting Healthcare Facilities!

"Be alert to a computer virus targeting healthcare facilities. According to Sophos, this virus is a variant of CXmal/BadLnk-A.

• The virus is spreading through emails being sent in small batches to facilities, which helps it bypass SPAM filters. 
• The link contains an invoice in a Microsoft Word document and upon opening, prompts the user with the message, "this file contains active content. Would you like to enable?” 
• Enabling the content is what activates the virus and allows it to propagate through the system. Please keep in mind that the exact wording may vary. If you receive any suspicious emails, or emails asking you to click on links with which you are unfamiliar, please do not open the link and follow your organizations’ protocol for reporting this situation.

Please be sure to share this with your users and remind them to be diligent when opening and/or responding to emails.
FHere are a few quick reminders for your organization. The IT Staff at the Heart of the Rockies Medical Center in Salida put together a concise and helpful list, and we wanted to share it with you in hopes it increases your awareness and security.

• Never open emails from unknown or unexpected sender.
• If the email is legitimate, they will reach back out to you. 
• Take a quick glance for obvious clues like misspellings in the senders address, subject or body of the email. Short or desperate language meant to encourage a quick/reactionary opening of attachment is often present.
• Never "run active content" in an attached… even if the email appears to come from a known sender. This is almost always a sign of malicious code embedded in the attachment.
• Keep your work email account limited to work business. There is no reason to be doing personal email on your work account… it only opens us up to future attacks. 
• Get a gmail account for personal use… it's free. Most organizations will not allow you access to your personal email so you’ll have to perform those functions from home."

[Source: Colorado Rural Health Center]

Meet the 2016 Safety Net Clinic Week Coordinator!

Sidharth Tripathi is a senior Biology major at Colorado College. Originally from Aurora, Colorado, Sidharth has a passion for health equity. Sidharth's passion for health equity stems from his involvement with GlobeMed at Colorado College , a student-run organization that fundraises and educates the local community about global health equity. Sidharth is passionate about health equity on both local and international levels, having just recently completed a one-month long internship at a health NGO in rural Kenya. Sidharth joined ClinicNET to help advocate for the important work safety net clinics do for their communities and in the state of Colorado. He is extremely excited for the potential impact he will have as the 2016 Safety Net Clinic Week Coordinator. 

A joint collaboration between ClinicNET and The Colorado Rural Health Center, the seventh annual Safety Net Clinic Week will take place from August 15th through August 19th. This is the perfect opportunity for community safety net clinics to educate their community and leaders about their role providing access to care to low-income, often medically vulnerable, Colorado residents. With the current evolution of health care, and potential unintended realities that come with such monumental change, the importance of highlighting the diversity of the health care safety net in Colorado cannot be overstated. Seize this opportunity to highlight an aspect of your clinic such as your dedicated volunteers, new programs services or partnerships; celebrate successes and highlight your work in our Colorado communities.  

A “toolkit” will be posted next week, so stay tuned! The “toolkit” will include fact sheets, flyers, logo and templates for press releases, letters to the editor, invitations for site-visits, and governmental proclamations.

I look forward to working with you and seeing all that will come from the 2016 Safety Net Clinic Week.

Sidharth Tripathi

sidharth.tripathi@clinicnet.org

720-863-7805

Safety Net Clinical Support Staff Loan Repayment Awards

Congratulations to the 25 recipients of the Kaiser Permanente Educational Loan Repayment for Safety Net Clinical Support Staff Program, including 3 staff members from ClinicNET affiliates Marillac Clinic, Clinica Colorado and Rocky Mountain Youth Clinics! Funded by Kaiser Permanente Community Health Fund, the program is designed to expand and modernize the safety net workforce through loan repayment and skill development webinars for clinical support staff. Click here for a complete list of awardees (page 6).

In October 2013, the Colorado Community Health Network, in partnership with Colorado Rural Health Center and ClinicNET, was funded to administer this loan repayment program in order to improve retention of health professionals who care for underserved Coloradans and provide affordable training development webinars for entry and mid-level staff.

During the initial loan repayment application cycle in January 2014, 26 clinical support staff with were awarded loan repayment funds to pay off education debt. Applicants are eligible to receive up to $10,000 in loan repayment, dependent on their completed years of service at their place of employment. The final application cycle will occur in January 2016, stay tuned for more information! [Source: CCHN]

The Forum 2014 is next week!

Please join us for The Forum 2014: Essential Perspectives for Safety Net Providers, April 9-11 in Lakewood, CO. We have a great forward-looking and relevant agenda designed to engage participants in discussion about healthcare policy, oral and behavioral health, telemedicine, population health, health equity, and much more.  Check out the agenda and the website for more information. It’s not too late to register!!

The Forum has gone mobile! Schedule, maps, alerts and more on your iPhone/Android, free! Download now: http://t.co/BL1uLT9mAO

If you plan on attending the ICD-10 Workshop on Friday, April 10th:  Please bring your ICD-10 books. It is not a requirement, but you will get more out of the workshop of you bring them!

Register for The Forum 2014 today!

The 14th Annual Forum: Essential Perspectives for Safety Net Providers will be held April 9-11, 2014 at the Sheraton Denver West in Lakewood, bringing together participants from all over Colorado and the surrounding states.  The Forum serves as an essential education, training, and networking conference for all safety net clinics and other interested parties.  Register today – early bird rates end March 7th!  Check out the agenda (subject to change) and the website for more information.

Interested in becoming a sponsor or exhibitor?  It is a great way to increase the visibility of your company, products, and services to a prime audience of hundreds of healthcare and community leaders from across the state. For more information check out the prospectus and registration form.

Colorado HealthStory Top Ten & Statewide Community Profile

ClinicNET has worked hard for the past three years as part of Colorado HealthStory, in partnership with the Colorado Rural Health Center and the Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved. Colorado HealthStory has collected over 230 stories in 27 counties throughout the state. As we listened to Coloradans tell their health story, we heard ten recurring themes rise to the top – ten things we believe define and describe health care in Colorado. This top ten list is a reflection of Colorado’s own health story, and we’re proud to be able to help tell it. We encourage you to explore and share the Colorado HealthStory Top Ten and the Statewide Community Profile.

22nd Annual Colorado Rural Health Conference

"The 22nd Annual Colorado Rural Health Conference will be held October 17-18, 2013.  This years conference will provide participants with a wide range of educational topics, networking, resource opportunities and much more.  Opportunities to sponsor and exhibit at this conference are now available.  Click here for more information and to register.

Register before September 18, and CRHC members will pay only $220, non-members will pay $270.  After September 18 prices increase! Register now!"  [Source:  Colorado Rural Health Center]

[Webinar] HIPAA Omnibus Follow-Up -- Deeper Dive

"Please join us for THE Consortium webinar ("HIPAA Omnibus Follow-Up -- Deeper Dive") on Thursday, May 16, 2013 from 12:00pm - 1:15pm where we will discuss the HIPAA Omnibus Rule in greater depth than at our recent presentations. The deeper dive will focus on:

•     Handling patient requests for restrictions on disclosures to health plans
•     Providing immunization records to schools
•     New Breach notification procedures
•     What you should be doing NOW to be ready for the September 23rd deadline for compliance"

Click here to register.  [Source: Colorado Rural Health Center]

Free ICD-10 Webinar – 2 CEU’s from AAPC!

Cost: FREE
Date: Thursday April 25th from 11am – 1pm Mountain time

"An informative webinar to give a coder’s viewpoint of the ICD-10 transition and to alleviate fears of what the new code set will mean to coders and billers. We will review guideline changes, new concepts and problematic code sets, along with in-depth discussions of the impact to outpatient coders, tips on how to begin the education and training process, and tips on how to avoid potential pitfalls during the implementation process.

This program has the prior approval for 2.0 CEU’s from the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC).

Space is limited! Go-to-Meeting details and powerpoint presentation slides will be emailed to registered participants 2 days prior to Webinar event. Please be sure to provide your email as part of your registration.

Click here to register!"  [Source: Colorado Rural Health Center]

Mark your calendars! Disaster Recovery and EHR Systems-A special Workshop you should not miss!!!

When: Tuesday April 2, 2013 from 10:30 am - 3 pm
Where: Colorado Rural Health Center, 3033 S. Parker Road, Suite 606, Aurora, CO 80014

Get the most out of your travel to Denver and consider arriving a day early for this special workshop on Disaster Recovery and EHR Systems!  The Colorado Rural Health Center and Data Services for Healthcare will:

•     present the latest innovations and concepts in developing and deploying an affordable and appropriate disaster recovery plan for your facility;
•     review disaster recovery and contingency plan policies and procedures.  Every participant will leave with an up to date HIPAA DR and Contingency plan policy and procedure template you can quickly adopt at your facility;
•     take a virtual tour of a Data Center that would provide the highest level of data security;
•     facilitate several roundtable discussions with industry experts on solutions for each participant's DR planning issues and concerns;
•     provide an update on what IT staff should do relevant to the recent HIPAA Omnibus Rule;
•     present on an innovative solution to internal audit of your EHR, PACS and other systems that create, maintain or store PHI;
•     present on Mobile Device Security trends and new solutions

Who should attend:

•     Critical Access Hospital IT leadership and staff
•     Rural PPS hospital IT leadership and staff
•     ClinicNet safety net clinics who have IT staff
•     Federally Qualified Health Centers

Fee: There is a nominal $25 fee to cover lunch and refreshments. Recognizing the burden attending may pose to our rural facilities DASH is offering a limited number of $200 scholarships to defray travel costs. These will be issued on a first come/first serve basis.  Details on signing up for these scholarship will be included on registration forms.

For more information email David Ginsberg, Senior Advisor at the Colorado Rural Health Center.  Registration coming soon! [Source: The Colorado Rural Health Center]

[Webinar] The Final HIPAA Rule-what rural hospitals and clinics need to know

When: February 14, 2013 from 12:00-1:00pm

The HIPAA Omnibus rule was published on January 25th. It is actually four separate rules affecting HIPAA Privacy, Security and Breach Notification.  Most of the rules must be implemented by September 23, 2013.  Sign up for an informative and high level review by Colorado Rural Health Center's HIPAA Expert, David Ginsberg.  Rural clinic HIPAA compliance staff should attend!
Click here to register.  ClinicNET affiliates are able to attend for FREE!

CDC Develops Handout to Help Adults Determine What Vaccines They May Need

"The CDC recently posted a new handout titled Do You Know Which Adult Vaccines You Might Need? It lists vaccines an adult may need, based on age, travel, occupation, medical history, and vaccines previously received.services. It includes coverage, coding, billing, and payment information..."  Click here to read more.  [Source: Colorado Rural Health Center]

RAC Launches Rural Obesity Prevention Toolkit

"In an effort to help rural communities better address the current obesity epidemic, the Rural Assistance Center has launched a Rural Obesity Prevention toolkit. This toolkit contains resources to help communities develop obesity prevention programs, building on best practices of successful obesity prevention programs..."  Click here to read more.  [Source: Colorado Rural Health Center]

ACC Payment Reform Subcommittee

When: Friday, December 14, 2012 2:30 PM-4:30 PM (GMT-07:00) Mountain Time (US & Canada).
Where: 225 E. 16th Avenue; Room 6 A/B

The meeting is a venue for RHCs, FQHCs, BHOs and RCCOs (Regional Care Collaborative Organizations) to discuss and provide input on Medicaid payment reform. RHC’s are encouraged to participate. See the call-in information below.

Call-in information:
Toll: 1-720-279-0026
Toll free: 1-877-820-7831
Passcode: 610450#  
[Source: Colorado Rural Health Center]

Administration Defines Benefits That Must Be Offered Under the Health Law

"Insurance companies are rushing to devise health benefit plans that comply with federal standards. This is in response to the "essential health benefits" which were defined on Tuesday by the Obama administration. Starting in October, people can enroll in the new plans, for coverage that begins on Jan. 1, 2014. The rules translate the broad promises of the 2010 law into detailed standards that can be enforced by state and federal officials..." Click here to read more.  [Source: Colorado Rural Health Center]

Solo-Provider Practice and Rural Clinic Make the Switch From Paper Medical Records to EHR

"Studies show that office-based medical practices are migrating to electronic health record (EHR) systems in record numbers. Practices foregoing paper medical records for EHRs are motivated by ARRA incentives and increased pressure from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)...

In 2011, with a $50,000 grant through the Colorado Rural Health Center Care Grant Program in hand, [Eastern Plains Medical Clinic was] ready to make the change from paper to EHR. “We worked with Angela Marino from Colorado Rural Health Center – she came out and did a site analysis to make sure we were prepared to go with EHR, what areas we needed to look at, how workflow was going to change and which policies and procedures we needed,” said Wilson..."  Click here to read more.  [Source: CORHIO]

Save the Date: April 3-5

The Forum is a two-day conference that will bring together participants from all over Colorado and the surrounding states. It serves as an essential educational, training, and networking event for all safety net clinics, members of the clinic team, and other interested parties...click here to learn more about the Forum and sign up to receive updates!

Webinars: Medicaid and CHP + Policy Changes

Pending approval from the Medical Services Board, January 2013 will bring policy changes for CHP+ and Medicaid.  The Colorado Rural Health Center will have an in-depth discussion about the policy changes, and question / answer period around these topics.

• Aligning Medicaid Eligibility for Children at 133% FPL
• Increasing Medicaid Income Eligibility for Pregnant Women
• CHP+ HMO Enrollment
• Elimination of CHP+ at Work Program
• Children of State Employees to be Eligible for CHP+

Register for a webinar session now by clicking a date below:

•  Tue, Dec 4, 2012 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM MST
•  Wed, Dec 5, 2012 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM MST
•  Thu, Dec 13, 2012 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM MST

Reminder: ICD 10 Online Workshops

Take advantage of this opportunity to enroll in the following online courses offered through the Colorado Rural Health Center that will prepare you and your organization for the successful transition to ICD 10.  These courses will provide you with history, structure, functions, guidelines and the terminology needed to ensure accurate and efficient billing processes. Whether you are a new coder, an advanced coder with years of experience, or a health care provider -- you will find value in this timely information.

Click here for more information, to view workshop offerings and to register.  Special ClinicNET member rates available!

Celebrate National Rural Health Day November 15!

"The National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH) and State Offices of Rural Health have set aside November 15, 2012 as National Rural Health Day to showcase Rural America; increase awareness of the unique healthcare issues facing rural communities; and highlight the efforts of State Offices of Rural Health and others to address those issues. Click here to learn more about National Rural Health Day and access resources..."  Read more about this celebration that includes a luncheon at St. Vincent Hospital in Leadville, a coloring contest in elementary school classrooms across Colorado, and a photo contest!  [Source: Colorado Rural Health Center]